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Ep. 45: The Confused Ninja
is the forty-fifth episode of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger. It is also the first part of a two-part tribute to Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, which concludes with Hero Eligibility, as well as a clip show of all of the previous events of the series. Sypnosis With the Gokaigers holding 29 of the 35 greater powers, and Basco with 5, the Gokai Galleon crew discovers that the only one left is that of the Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. Remembering Negakure Temple, the crew finds a strange pot containing the Kakurangers' ally Ninjaman who tests them to see if they are worthy of the Kakurangers' greater power. Plot The Gokaigers recap all of the Greater Powers they and Basco ta Jolokia have gathered, leaving only the Kakurangers'. Navi's prophecy implies that ninjas that can't be found won't be found. They recall the shrine that Domon had told them to protect, Megakure Shrine, and Joe deduces that it could be where the Kakuranger powers are. Once there, they discover that Ninjaman had been stuck for ten years in a jar, having been put there by his masters as a punishment for his over-zealousness of defending a little girl (taking out an entire city block in the process). Gai informs him that his curse wasn't broken as the Kakurangers lost their powers in the Great Legend War. While Captain Marvelous is ready to interrogate him about the powers, Ahim, Gai and Don insist they go about it without rubbing him the wrong way, by winning his approval first. Thus, the Gokaigers attempt to treat Ninjaman to snacks and a show (which ends horribly when Marvelous and Navi's act propels the robotic parrot into the food the crew prepared for Ninjaman, much to Joe's dismay), and later start telling him about the Ranger Keys, their Gokai Changes, their quest for the Greater Powers, and the battle against Zangyack, as well as the danger that Basco poses, having the ability to simply steal the powers. Ninjaman, while empathetic to their plight, declines to simply hand over the Kakuranger's Greater Power; because his easygoing demeanor has put him in trouble more than once in the past, he has decided not to trust people so easily, so he decides he will live aboard the Gokai Galleon to observe if they are ready to have it. While Gai is ecstatic at the thought of being taken under the wing of a legend, the rest of the Gokaigers feel impatient. Marvelous curses the fact that the final wielder of a Greater Power is going to be the most difficult to deal with. Somewhere else in the city, Tsuruhime watches the Gokai Galleon sail across the air. She is impressed at how they found the hidden Ninjaman. She decides that while she had intended to meet the Gokaigers and have have them continue to defend the planet, since they've released Ninjaman then it is up to him whether they deserve the Kakuranger powers. With that, she swooshes away into the night. Cast * : * : * : * : * : * : * : Guest Cast * : * : Gokai Changes *Gokai Changes in The Confused Ninja: **Gokai Red - TyrannoRanger (deleted scene), Gosei Blue, GaoRed **Gokai Blue - TriceraRanger (deleted scene), Shinken Blue, Go-On Blue **Gokai Yellow - TigerRanger (deleted scene), Blue Dolphin, Yellow Lion **Gokai Green - MammothRanger (deleted scene), TimeBlue, ShishiRanger **Gokai Pink - PteraRanger (deleted scene), MagiBlue, GingaRed **Gokai Silver - DragonRanger (deleted scene), Aorenger, Gosei Knight *In the all-Lion Gokai Change, Ahim is the only one who does not transform into a Ranger of her own color. This is due to the fact that none of the previous Pink Rangers have a lion motif. *Like the all-Yellow Gokai Change from the previous episode, when the Gokaigers all transform into Blue Rangers, they change into ones that are the same gender as themselves (Luka and Ahim change into Blue Rangers that were originally female, while Marvelous, Joe, Don, and Gai change into Blue Rangers that were originally male). **Also, like the previous episode, the Ranger Marvelous becomes in this change is someone with a type of leadership quality. In this case, Gosei Blue, who was the tactical leader of the Goseigers. **Don and Gai are the only Gokaigers to transform into Blue Rangers with no connection to water. *This is the first time Gai becomes a Ranger from a team before Zyuranger. *Joe is the only Gokaiger where he transformations with all of his counterparts (including the delete scences). *Luka is the only Gokaiger where all of her (non-deleted) transformations come from the same series (Liveman). *The Gokai Changes during the montage, outside the Kakuranger one, were all in series order from most recent (Goseiger) to oldest (Gorenger). Also notable is that every Gokai Change from a team with a tribute episode up to that point were in the montage. **Only Hurricaneger was not in the set due to the unique situation of the tribute two-parter. Their Gokai Change was from episode 2. *This is the last episode before the finale in which all six Gokaigers transform into past Rangers. Sentai3116.jpg|Blue Rangers (Aorenger, Blue Dolphin, TimeBlue, MagiBlue, Shinken Blue, & Gosei Blue) All Lion Gokai Change.jpg|Lion Rangers (Yellow Lion, ShishiRanger, GingaRed, GaoRed, Go-On Blue, & Gosei Knight) Elements/Homages to Kakuranger *The title of this episode is similar to the Kakuranger episode 36, "The Hooligan Ninja!!", the original episode that introduced Ninjaman; the title in Japanese was Abarenbou Ninja!! (暴れん坊忍者!!). The title also echos another Kakuranger title: that of episode 45, "The Confused Santa" (慌てん坊サンタ, Awatenbou Santa), while ironically this episode is likewise released around the major holiday period in Japan around Christmas and New Year's. *When freeing Ninjaman, it is Ahim who breaks him free from the pot, reminiscent of how Tsuruhime, her equivalent in Kakuranger, freed him originally in the series. *After Ninjaman is freed, he explained the backstory of his imprisonment in the same way The Announcer talks to the audience during the earlier half of the season; sitting in traditional Japanese style and using various drawn cards to explain information similar to how the Announcer used them to explain the Yokai. **Of particular note, The Announcer was the host of Kakuranger's recap episode in his final appearance in series. *When Tsuruhime appears at the end of the episode they play the opening theme for Kakuranger. Back in Kakuranger, they sometimes played the ending theme in lieu of background music. *During Navi's Treasure Navigation, she states "Doro Doro Dororon", lines from the ending theme of Kakuranger, "Ninja Skyscraper Kids". Deleted Scenes *During the recap, a Legend Shift is seen during the footage of Satoru Akashi (Bouken Red) despite the fact that the shift didn't occur in Ep. 21: The Adventurer Heart. *The Gokaiger change into Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger as seen in the TV Asahi website. The Zyuranger (the five core members; with Dairanger's KibaRanger in DragonRanger's place) and Ninjaman suits were all part of the Kakuranger adaptation for season 3 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Whether or not it is an intentional reference remains to be seen. BoukenRed.png|Bouken Red's Legend Shift Tumblr n4g1y7EoCL1qdsraqo1 500.jpg|Zyuranger Gokai Change Notes *As part of Super Hero Time, this episode aired alongside Kamen Rider Fourze episode 17, Meteor Appearance. *'Viewership': 4.1% *A trailer for the next Sentai, Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters, was shown at the end of this episode's initial broadcast. *During the recap explanation of all of their encountered legends, Shirou Akebono is mentioned; however in the previous episode, the Gokaigers never knew they actually encountered him and that he was the source of the Battle Fever J Greater Power, thinking it was only a present from "Santa Claus". While it can be argued that Shirou only appeared to the audience, references are made to what's seen at several points by the Gokaigers and Ninjaman like they're watching the clips themselves. *When Joe remarks that Ninjaman was a Kakuranger as well, neither Ninjaman nor Gai (who too awestruck at the sight of Ninjaman anyway) corrects him. This lends credence to theories that Ninjaman may be a mecha and extra hero turned sixth ranger, like Gosei Knight was. *"Ga" (が) is an accented "Ka" (か), which is how Joe solves why Megakure was what they are looking for. **Megakure -> Mekakure -> Kakure. In Romanji, Kakuranger is spelled "'Kakure'nja". *Before this episode (and earlier in The Future is the Past, the episode that showed Ninjaman's jar in the temple), most fans assumed Ninjaman wouldn't appear due to rumors that tell that the original costume used in Kakuranger was lost after the filming of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers' third season (used for Ninjaman's counterpart). While that rumor is unsubstantiated, the argument can be made that no money had to go to making a new monster of the week, coupled with the fact that most of this episode consisted of stock footage, makes the rumor valid. *When Ninjaman correctly answers the motif of the lion Gokai Change, Joe as Go-On Blue says , the catchphrase of the original Go-On Blue, Renn Kousaka. *Except for Daisuke Satō (Gai/Gokai Silver), the Gokaigers have Gokai Changed into the same powers their suit actors played in the earlier series during the all-blue Gokai Change: **Luka uses the Blue Dolphin powers, the role played by Yuichi Hachisuka in Choujuu Sentai Liveman. **Don uses the TimeBlue powers Yasuhiro Takeuchi in Mirai Sentai Timeranger.. **Ahim uses the MagiBlue powers, the role played by Mizuho Nogawa in Mahou Sentai Magiranger. **Joe uses the Shinken Blue powers, the role played by Yoshifumi Oshikawa in Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. **Marvelous uses the Gosei Blue powers, the role played by Hirofumi Fukuzawa in Tensou Sentai Goseiger. ***Daisuke Satō had no previous Blue Ranger roles (or any since). DVD/Blu-ray releases Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger Volume 11 features episodes 42-46: Ep. 42: The Strongest Man in the Universe, Ep. 43: To the Legendary Hero, Ep. 44: A Lovely Christmas Eve, Ep. 45: The Confused Ninja, and Ep. 46: Hero Eligibility. It was released on May 21, 2012. http://www.toei-video.co.jp/DVD/sp21/go-kai.html Gokaiger DVD Vol 11.jpg|''Gokaiger'' Volume 11, DVD cover GokaiVol11-BRCover.jpg|''Gokaiger'' Volume 11, Blu-ray cover References External Links *Episode 45 page on the TV Asahi site Category:Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger Category:Sentai episodes Category:tribute episodes Category:Sentai New Year Episode Category:Flashback episode